MONDAY
Nets 95
BULLS 113
FINAL
Playing Consistent Ball In All The Wrong Categories
You know I've been antagonizing these Nets since opening night at Milwaukee if you ride this Trolley - not that I find it enjoyable. In fact, it's frustrating. And I again uttered a few days ago that prolonged success under these circumstances is unsustainable.
Picking up against the Toronto Raptors, for only the third time through their first ten games, the Nets held the opponent under 90 shot attempts. However, for the tenth consecutive game, the opposition put up more shots than Brooklyn. Points in the paint are also an ongoing item of contention. The Raptors were +18 against the Nets in that respect. But Flatbush made it all up by shooting 17/38 (44.7%) and outscoring the Raptors by 30 points from behind the arc ...
... which is precisely how they got off to a 7-3 record entering Monday's game.
In their tilt at Chicago, the opposition for the eighth time in eleven games exceeded 90 shots, and for the eleventh consecutive game, Flatbush attempted fewer shots than the opposition.
This time they paid the price. Three-point conversions and free throws were within a respective range of one another, but the Bulls benefited from 16 more field goal opportunities and converted 12 more attempts from the field.
Brooklyn again got sandblasted in the paint by a 54-24 margin or, said another way, a 30 point discrepancy. Chicago also secured 15 offensive rebounds leading to second-chance opportunities. Otherwise, Brooklyn lost the overall battle of the boards by a 56-42 margin.
The game started in what is now typical Net fashion. After getting outscored by eight in the first quarter, Flatbush recovered and took a 57-51 lead into the half. But the output failed to flow in the second half. Brooklyn was limited to 21 points in the third quarter and just 17 points in the fourth. Whereas the Bulls rolled to 42 points in the fourth en route to a 23-point margin of victory.
The search for a third consistent contributor continues ...
Coming off his first double-double this season, Blake Griffin helped with seven boards and four assists but suffered another case of the chills going 1/5 from the field and 0/4 from three, not to mention 0/2 from the line. Bruce Brown was frozen solid, shooting 0/8 in 31 minutes. Five other players attempted more shots than Joe Harris, who finished 3/5 from behind the arc for nine points. The three together combined for just eleven points on 4/20 from the field.
Kevin Durant went double-double with a game-high 38 points with ten rebounds. Meanwhile, the word is out across the league: hack James Harden cause the Refs aren't blowing their whistles. The absurdity continued against Toronto and again Monday against the Bulls. Harden wrapped up with 14 points, of which only 3/3 came from the line.
Chicago starters outscored Brooklyn's starting five by an 85-63 margin.
The "third man in" recipient goes to LaMarcus Aldridge, who finished with 19 points with seven rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.
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